Experts claim more evidence of ancient river

Vishal Joshi

Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, April 22

Experts at the Centre of Excellence for Research on Saraswati River (CERSR) are elated over the chance discovery of fresh geological evidence of a Himalayan-origin river flowing through Kurukshetra in the ancient times.

The site is located near Bhadrakali temple on the Jhansa road here.

Prof AR Chaudhri, director of Kurukshetra University’s CERSR, told The Tribune on Sunday, the preliminary study of sediments hints at the existence of an all-weather river in the region.

He said the geological samples would be sent to the Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology for dating.

“Our team will scientifically examine the sediments to ascertain the velocity of the river current that cease to exist now. The site has old bathing ghats which are in a dilapidated condition.

The channel and a British-era bridge are named after Saraswati and the belief system about a Vedic age river gets stronger with the fresh geological evidence,” he said.

About 10 days ago, a PhD research scholar at CERSR, Subhash Rajput, incidentally noticed layers of sand deposits at the site where Saraswati bridge is being widened.

The CERSR is being funded by the state government to validate the existence of the now inactive Saraswati river.

“After a depth of about three meters, sand layers were noticed at the construction site. A careful study hints that the sand may have accumulated after flowing downstream. The upper crust at the construction site was of clay, indicating the deposits of the rain-fed channel. The findings point towards the flow of a large river in geologic past through this site located nears the Bhadrakali temple,” said Chaudhri.

He has been working extensively on the Saraswati river project for nearly a decade with the corporate social responsibility project of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited.

Chaudhri’s earlier preliminary study of sediments by Chaudhri at Bhor Saidan site, near here had hinted the ancient river course dates back to more than 10,000 years.

“Twin findings have further evoked curiosity about the existence of a river in modern Haryana. Detail geological probe is determined if the river had a source in the upper or lower Himalayas,” he added.